This website uses cookies for functionality and allow us to analyse the use of the site. To opt out please view our cookie policy. If you continue to browse the site, we'll assume you agree to the use of cookies.

News in brief – April 2018

Gender pay gap reporting: almost 90% of public sector employers pay men more than women

The deadline of Friday 30 March 2018 for public sector employers to publish their first gender pay gap reports has now passed, and reports have revealed that men in large public sector organisations are paid, on average, more than women in 90% of cases.

Women working in the public sector receive, on average, 14% less than their male colleagues.

The statutory reports show that there is a substantial gender pay gap in the education sector, both in respect of the mean pay gap (comparing the mean average pay figure for all men and for all women) and the median pay gap (comparing the pay of the middle-earning man and middle-earning woman employed by that employer). Over 40 of the 100 employers reporting the largest median gender pay gaps in the education sector are multi-academy trusts and schools.

Many educational providers have opted to include a narrative to explain their figures and provide context.

Gender pay gap reporting: New snapshot date for public sector

Now the dust has just about settled on the first round of gender pay gap reports, the public sector has to start the process all over again.

Employers with 250 or more employees on Saturday 31 March 2018 have until Saturday 30 March 2019 to publish data on the Government’s website.

Education providers will be expected to show some improvement on their previous year’s figures (although, in reality, this is probably a longer-term aim for many organisations).

Equality and Human Rights Commission to use full extent of powers to enforce gender pay gap regulations

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has recently said that employers who fail to report their gender pay gap data will be subject to unlimited fines, summary convictions, and will ultimately be forced to publish their gender pay gap data under a court order in accordance with its enforcement strategy.

Letters were sent on Monday 9 April 2018. Employers are required to respond within 28 days before an investigation takes place and an unlawful act notice is issued.

BBC launches online game to help pupils identify ‘fake news’

The BBC has launched a new interactive game to help pupils identify “fake news.”

The game, which was developed by Aardman – the studios behind Wallace and Gromit – is aimed at 11 to 18 year-olds and aims to help young people identify false and inaccurate news stories by throwing in potential false leads and inaccuracies, and developing pupils’ critical thinking and media literacy skills.

Families of children with special needs have joined forces to fund legal action against local authorities in England that are cutting educational budgets.

The National Education Union said special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) children were increasingly at risk of being excluded because budget cuts mean they are not getting the necessary support.

We’re acting for affected families in Surrey, Hackney and elsewhere. We’re increasingly seeing families and campaigners working together to bring challenges, and using platforms like CrowdJustice to raise the funds needed to do so. The groups are able to pool resources and act quickly to challenge cuts.

Ofsted looking at no-notice school inspections... again

According to TES, Ofsted’s chief inspector has revived the controversial idea of carrying out no notice inspections of schools.

Ms Spielman was responding to a YouGov survey, published by Ofsted last week, which found that 61% of parents supported unannounced visits to schools.

Ms Spielman said Ofsted wanted to ensure that inspectors are seeing a true picture of the schools they inspect.

She said: “We are trying to find that balance, of making sure schools aren’t completely caught on the hop, and you don’t turn up to inspect on a day where the headteacher is out of school, where the chair of governors is on holiday and where you can’t have the right conversations.

“It is balancing that with making sure you get a school as it actually operates with all of the children who are normally there so that you get a true picture of behaviour and the school culture.”

Our Social Channels

We've Moved

Thomas Eggar is now Irwin Mitchell.
We have changed our name but we will continue to provide the highest standard of service to businesses and individuals delivered by the same people.
For more information about the merger, please visit the About Us page.